The Importance of PVI
(Verbal plenary inspiration)
2 Tim 3:13-17
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Intro: In 2 Timothy we find Paul’s last words to his young preaching protégé and he begins this section by warning Timothy of the dangers to him personally and to the church concerning the deception that will be the greatest threat to the faith. These “evil men” (v. 13) will seduce and seek to deceive men in the last days. These seducers will have a “form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…” This behavior will get progressively worse and worse as time goes on.
He then admonishes Timothy to “continue” in what he had learned from Paul himself and what he had learned as a child. Paul refers to these things that Timothy had learned as the “holy scriptures” which would include the OT taught to him by his mother and grandmother, Lois and Eunice, and then the NT writings of Paul and others. These scriptures make of the Word of God that ultimately led to Timothy’s salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. It is when we get to vs 16-17 that we see the importance of PVI...
I. The Source of Inspiration
In 2 Timothy 3:16, Paul states, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” This is the only use in the Bible of the Greek word theopneustos, which means “God-breathed, inspired by God, due to the inspiration of God,” but other scriptural passages support the basic premise of Scripture being inspired by God. The power of the breath of God in divine inspiration pervades Scripture. God breathed “the breath of life” into Adam (Genesis 2:7), and Jesus “breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:22). GotQuestions.com
2 Peter 18-21 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. 19We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
a. The Sovereign’s will
In 2 Peter 1:21 we are told that “prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Here we see the truths of Scripture described as coming directly from God, not from the will of the writers He used to record them.
b. The Servants words
God used His own servants to communicate His word to mankind. They “spake…” Hebrews 1:1-3 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Commentary: God spake to his ancient people at sundry times, through successive generations, and in divers manners, as he thought proper; sometimes by personal directions, sometimes by dreams, sometimes by visions, sometimes by Divine influences on the minds of the prophets. The gospel revelation is excellent above the former; in that it is a revelation which God has made by his Son. In beholding the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ, we behold the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Father. Basically this text says that the delivery of the Scripture was fragmentary but that now it is full. There is no more revelation and will not be any more. This is clear. Any new revelation so called is not revelation but deception and error.
c. The Spirit’s work
These holy men spake “as they were moved of the Holy Spirit.
Consider Bill, who was just a young man at the time. He had tried preaching, but didn’t always feel the power of God or see any results. One of his contemporaries, Charles Templeton, got into academia and started to believe scripture as flawed and outdated. Bill wondered about all of this. A friend of his, Henrietta Mears, invited him to speak at a Christian retreat center called Forest Home. The night before, he went off alone into the nearby woods, put his Bible on a stump, and had an honest talk with God. He prayed, “O God! There are many things in this book I do not understand. There are many problems with it for which I have no solution. There are many seeming contradictions. There are some areas in it that do not seem to correlate with modern science. I can’t answer some of the philosophical and psychological questions Chuck and others are raising.”
And then he fell to his knees and the Holy Spirit moved in him as he said, “Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word—by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word!” He later wrote that, as he stood up, his eyes stung with tears, but he felt the power and presence of God in a way he hadn’t in months. “A major bridge had been crossed,” he said. The next day he preached with a new vitality. Mears noted, he “preached with authority” that she hadn’t seen before. And some 400 people made a commitment to Christ that day. A few weeks later he would preach the historic Los Angeles Crusade. It was planned to go three weeks, but ended up going eight. And the career of an upstart evangelist took off. The world found Billy Graham, as Billy found the Word of God.
[Summarized from https://billygraham.org/story/the-tree-stump-prayer-where-billy-graham-overcame-doubt/]
II. The Scope of Inspiration
Notice that our text declares that “all scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
WHAT IS MEANT BY THE VERBAL PLENARY INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE?
Is the Bible the Authoritative Word of God – Question 3
The doctrine of the authority of the Bible is often described with the phrase, “verbal plenary inspiration.” What does this phrase mean? What are Christians talking about when they speak of the verbal plenary inspiration of Scripture?
1. Verbal Means Every Word
Verbal inspiration means that every word of Scripture is God-given. The idea is that every single word in the Bible is there because God wanted it there. There are no exceptions.
2. Plenary Means Fully Authoritative
Plenary means that “all parts” of the Bible are divinely authoritative. This includes such things as the genealogies of the Old Testament. All parts of the Bible are of divine origin.
Jesus said the following of the Old Testament:
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter in the law to drop out. (Luke 16:17 HCSB)
The New International Version translates this verse as follows:
It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. (Luke 16:17 NIV)
Paul testified to the church at Rome that the entire Old Testament was written for our instruction. He put it in the following way:
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4 ESV)
The Old Testament, in its entirety, can teach us valuable lessons; it should not be ignored.
The same holds true for all parts of the New Testament. All parts of the New Testament are divinely authoritative.
3. Inspiration Means That God Guided the Process
The idea behind the word inspiration is that God supernaturally guided the biblical authors to write the exact things that He wanted expressed. The result is Holy Scripture.
Therefore, the phrase “verbal plenary inspiration” means that all parts of the Bible, as well as every Word of the Bible, says exactly what God wanted said. He guided the entire process so that the end result would be His Words.
Blueletterbible.org
In 1947, Muhammad adh-Dhib, a twelve-year-old Arab boy, made one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time. While looking for a lost goat in Qumran, near the Dead Sea, he threw a stone into a cave and heard the sound of shattering pottery. Curious about the noise, he entered the cave and found a collection of large clay jars containing carefully wrapped leather manuscripts. What this boy stumbled upon was an ancient collection of handwritten copies of the Old Testament that dated as far back as far as the third century BC. Scholars determined the age of the scrolls by carefully examining:
• the type of pottery the manuscripts were housed in
• the weave and pattern of the manuscript cloths
• the form of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek characters
• the spelling of the words
• several hundred coins found with the scrolls—they were minted between 135 BC and AD 68
Archaeologists spent years searching the surrounding caves. By the time they were done, some 220 copies of Old Testament books had been found. These included nineteen copies of the Book of Isaiah, twenty-five copies of Deuteronomy, and thirty copies of the Psalms. When the search ended, the only Old Testament book that wasn’t found was a copy of the Book of Esther. But it is mentioned in some of the other Dead Sea Scrolls, so we know the Jews at Qumran were familiar with it and probably had it. Many of the Dead Sea Scrolls are housed today in climate-controlled vaults in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
Precept Austin
III. The Scheme of Inspiration
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for:
1. Doctrine—what is right
2. Reproof—what is not right
3. Correction—how to get right
4. Instruction in righteousness—how to stay right
The Bible identifies itself through several clear metaphors and similes. These symbols serve the purpose of helping us understand what the Bible is and what it can do in our lives. Let’s examine of a few of those symbols today.
1. A Mirror - James 1:23-25 - As a mirror the Word of God perfectly reflects the mind of God and the condition of man.
2. A Seed - 1 Pet. 1:23 - When the Word is properly planted in human heart, it will bring forth life, growth and fruit.
3. Water - Eph. 5:25-27 - As water, the Word has the power to cleanse, quench and refresh.
4. A Lamp - Psa. 119:105; Pro. 6:23 - The Word is a lamp because it shows us where we are, it guides us into the future and it keeps us from falling.
5. A Sword - Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6:17 - Called a sword because it has the ability to pierce the heart. It is equally effective on sinners, saints and Satan.
6. Precious Metals - Gold - Psa. 19:10; Psa. 119:27; Silver - Psa. 119:127; Psa. 12:6 - The Bible is referred to as gold and silver because of its desirability, its preciousness and its value.
7. Food - Job 23:12 - The Word of God is called food because it strengthens those who partake of it. (Note: The verb “furnish” in verse 17, means to be “finished, complete”. It is in the passive voice. In other words, this completing ministry of the Word is something that is “done to” the one who gets into the word. If you will feed on the Bible, you will grow!)
A. Milk - 1 Pet. 2:2 - As milk is nourishes the young.
B. Meat - Heb. 5:12-14 - As meat it nourishes the mature.
C. Bread - John 6:51 - As bread it can nourish everyone.
D. Honey - Psa. 19:10 - As honey it is sweet and provides strength for the journey.
8. Hammer - Jer. 23:29 - It is referred to as a hammer because it possesses the ability to tear down and to build up.
9. Fire - Jer. 20:9; Luke 24:32 - It is called fire because it has the power to judge, purify and consume!
Dr. Larry Petton
Conclusion: It is said that when the famous missionary, Dr. David Livingstone, started his trek across Africa he had 73 books in 3 packs, weighing 180 pounds.
After the party had gone 300 miles, Livingstone was obliged to throw away some of the books because of the fatigue of those carrying his baggage.
As he continued on his journey his library grew less and less, until he had but one book left--his Bible.
ILL: Consider Bill, who was just a young man at the time. He had tried preaching, but didn’t always feel the power of God or see any results. One of his contemporaries, Charles Templeton, got into academia and started to believe scripture as flawed and outdated. Bill wondered about all of this. A friend of his, Henrietta Mears, invited him to speak at a Christian retreat center called Forest Home. The night before, he went off alone into the nearby woods, put his Bible on a stump, and had an honest talk with God. He prayed, “O God! There are many things in this book I do not understand. There are many problems with it for which I have no solution. There are many seeming contradictions. There are some areas in it that do not seem to correlate with modern science. I can’t answer some of the philosophical and psychological questions Chuck and others are raising.”
And then he fell to his knees and the Holy Spirit moved in him as he said, “Father, I am going to accept this as Thy Word—by faith! I’m going to allow faith to go beyond my intellectual questions and doubts, and I will believe this to be Your inspired Word!” He later wrote that, as he stood up, his eyes stung with tears, but he felt the power and presence of God in a way he hadn’t in months. “A major bridge had been crossed,” he said. The next day he preached with a new vitality. Mears noted, he “preached with authority” that she hadn’t seen before. And some 400 people made a commitment to Christ that day. A few weeks later he would preach the historic Los Angeles Crusade. It was planned to go three weeks, but ended up going eight. And the career of an upstart evangelist took off. The world found Billy Graham, as Billy found the Word of God.
[Summarized from https://billygraham.org/story/the-tree-stump-prayer-where-billy-graham-overcame-doubt/]
